


Can't Help Falling

by reminiscingintherain



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Anal Sex, Bartenders, Consent is Sexy, Harry's a workaholic, Ibiza, Jay's Bar, Larry Abroad 2019, Louis and Zayn own a bar, M/M, Open Ending, oh!, photographer!harry, safe sex, there's a lot of alcohol actually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-02-16 06:42:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18686200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reminiscingintherain/pseuds/reminiscingintherain
Summary: "I like the sound of the scenery and art, Li. I've brought my camera, so maybe I can get some --""If the next words out of your mouth are 'get some work done', I will throw your Saint Laurent boots in the Mediterranean," Niall threatened."Let's not get hasty," Harry said quickly, paling slightly."No work, Styles," Liam reinforced. "At all. We promised Anne we'd get you to relax.""We're gonna go see Li's mate," Niall offered. "He works in a bar out there, right?""Yeah," Liam nodded. "You remember me saying a while back about Zayn from school?""Uh, he sent you a friend request or something on Facebook, right?" Harry guessed. "And you were surprised cos you've not seen him for like, ten years or something.""Right," Liam agreed. "He and a mate from uni went over once they'd graduated and opened up their own bar. Apparently it's doing pretty well, and he wanted to let me know where they were."~~~~Or the one where Harry's a workaholic, until best mates Liam and Niall drag him away for a holiday to Ibiza.





	Can't Help Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Whoop here it is!
> 
> A huge massive thank you to my amazingly wonderful beta [Lynda](http://wait4ever.tumblr.com/) \- you make my words pretty and coherent, and I'm incredibly grateful to you!!
> 
> Shout out to my GCs, cos you're awesome and I love you all.
> 
> If you've enjoyed this, please leave a comment or a kudos, and make my world a little brighter :)
> 
> Usual disclaimers apply - all mine, no sending to anyone who knows anyone etc etc.

"Holiday, holiday, holiday," Niall chanted as he led the way through the airport. "We're finally going on fucking holiday."

"Calm down, Nialler," Liam snickered. "If we're not careful, they'll think you're drunk already and won't let us on the plane."

"Nahhhh they won't!" Niall exclaimed. "We'll just send Haz on first. He can charm them with the curls and dimples. You know that gets all the girls and boys swooning."

"Thanks for the objectification, Niall," Harry replied drily. "Really, I'm feeling so appreciated as a person right now."

"Oh lighten up, Styles," Niall grinned, then burst into song. "Oh! We're going to Ibiza! Oh! Back to the island! Oh! We're gonna have a party! Oh! In the Mediterranean sea!" He accompanied the singing with a shimmy and a twist of his hips as he hopped onto the moving pavement.

"Can we pretend we don't know him?" Harry asked Liam, shooting Niall an uncertain look.

"Not really," Liam chuckled. "We should really keep an eye on him. Who knows what kind of trouble he can get himself in without supervision?"

"Kinda why I was asking," Harry sighed, but then chuckled when Niall didn't notice the end of the moving section and promptly fell over. "You okay, Ni?" he called out.

"I'm grand!" came the reply, as he bounced to his feet again. 

"This is going to be a long fortnight," Harry rubbed a hand over his face before following his friends over to the gate.

It was a lads holiday, one that Harry had been trying to get out of for months. He was a photojournalist and kept making the excuse that work was too important, he was trying to get his name out there, he was still establishing himself, he didn't have time for a holiday. But his best friends since school, Liam and Niall, while they had put up with his ducking and diving for a while, eventually went over his head and spoke to his boss, arranging for Harry to have off the two weeks that they needed, before they went to the travel agents and booked the holiday, presenting it all to Harry as a fait accompli.

His Mum refused to let him duck out of it, assigning his sister Gemma to help Liam and Niall by packing Harry's cases for him, and making sure that he didn't cancel his holiday time with his boss. Which is how he found himself here at London Stansted, following them through the masses of people, ready for the two and a half hour flight to hot and sunny Ibiza.

"So what are we planning on doing on this holiday?" he asked warily as they sat by the gate.

"Drinking, swimming, drinking, partying, drinking," Niall rattled off.

"I'd like to take a look around the island," Liam added. "The scenery and art is supposed to be amazing."

"Yeah, that's boring Payno," Niall rolled his eyes. "I may try a bit of surfing? Ooh, I wonder if they have those inflatable rides. Y'know the ones where you're tugged along behind a speedboat and you gotta try and stay on? I wanna try those."

"Okay, calm down," Harry chuckled quietly. "I like the sound of the scenery and art, Li. I've brought my camera, so maybe I can get some --"

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'get some work done', I will throw your Saint Laurent boots in the Mediterranean," Niall threatened.

"Let's not get hasty," Harry said quickly, paling slightly.

"No work, Styles," Liam reinforced. "At all. We promised Anne we'd get you to relax."

"We're gonna go see Li's mate," Niall offered. "He works in a bar out there, right?"

"Yeah," Liam nodded. "You remember me saying a while back about Zayn from school?"

"Uh, he sent you a friend request or something on Facebook, right?" Harry guessed. "And you were surprised cos you've not seen him for like, ten years or something."

"Right," Liam agreed. "He and a mate from uni went over once they'd graduated and opened up their own bar. Apparently it's doing pretty well, and he wanted to let me know where they were."

Harry gave Liam a slightly suspicious look.

"Are you sure you were just friends?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as Liam turned an interesting shade of pink.

"We're friends," he insisted. "We... may have messed around a little in school, but that was a long time ago. I highly doubt he remembers that."

"You make it sound like you're forgettable, Li, and you are far from that," Harry said gently.

"Don't start that again," Liam huffed. "I'm awesome, I'm wonderful, I deserve to be loved, yadda yadda yadda."

"Oi, Payno, enough of that," Niall replied sharply. "You are all of those things and more, and if you try and belittle yourself again, me and you are gonna have a falling out."

Liam rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

" _ Anyway _ ," he said pointedly. "Zayn said that we were welcome to visit, and he was looking forward to seeing me if I could get out there."

"So we're basically going all the way to Ibiza for the world's most elaborate booty call?" Harry asked.

Liam was prevented from answering as one of the flight attendants opened the gate, calling for their section to board.

"I don't wanna hear any more of that crap," he hissed. "Besides, the way he was talking about his friend - Lewis, I think? - I'm pretty sure they're involved. So I highly doubt I have anything remotely resembling a chance."

"We'll see, Leemo," Niall clapped a hand on his shoulder. "But basically, as long as we get Haz here to relax, maybe get his leg over a few times, and actually remember to have fun - this holiday will definitely be a success."

~~~~~~

"Z, can you grab some more limes out of the fridge, please?" Louis called as he used the last one up in the mojito that he was preparing. "We've got none left out here!"

"On it, babe!" Zayn replied, grabbing a large net of limes as he made his way back out the front, a large sack of ice under his other arm. "Here you go." He dropped them just behind the bar next to Louis, before he emptied the ice into the cool sink, and turned to the next customer waiting. "How can I help you, love?"

They had met at university, sharing a floor in one of the smaller Halls of Residence, when the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night, and the whole building was forced out into the cold and rain to await the fire brigade. Zayn had managed to grab a packet of cigarettes but no lighter, while Louis had a lighter but no cigarettes. They managed to find each other, and huddled in the bus shelter across the road, chain-smoking and chatting their way through Zayn's packet until they were given the all-clear.

That one night started a solid friendship. They both realised as they headed back inside that they were actually across the hall from each other - somehow they'd managed to not cross paths in the three months they'd been in uni. That immediately changed, and they were always found in one or the others' rooms, studying, smoking, getting high (although only the once, after which they were warned by the security guy that it was an immediate eviction and expulsion from the uni if they were caught), and quite often, sleeping.

Fast forward through a further two years of house sharing, then graduation with business degrees, and then another six years in a flat in London as they both worked, earning as much as they could doing whatever work they could with their degrees, until they'd saved enough to move over to Ibiza to open a bar - an idea sprung from the holiday they took to the island at the end of their first year.

Louis would openly admit that he was probably the driving force behind the idea and bringing it to fruition, but he would also be the first to say that there was no way he'd have managed it without Zayn's input and ideas, especially regarding design and branding. While they both had gone down the road of business management at university, Zayn was still more of an artistic person than Louis could ever be, while Louis enjoyed the numbers side of the industry, even down to stock management and taxes.

They both knew that the bar would be a gamble, but it was one that they were more than willing to take, because they knew that they had the knowledge and the drive to not only simply get it to work, but also to be successful. And so, when Jay’s Place opened its doors at the beginning of the season with half price on all drinks before 8pm, and the best multibuy offers in their section of town, they quickly saw their popularity rise.

A Facebook page had been set up for the bar, which they were attempting to keep updated - but really only very sporadically due to how busy they had actually become. Successful to the extent that within only two months they were in discussion about hiring on more bar staff, or possibly wait staff, to help out with serving and clearing.

Zayn had mentioned something to Louis the other day about inviting a load of friends from home to come and see the bar, but he'd been in the middle of ordering spirits so hadn't really paid a great deal of attention to what was said. Really, as long as they still had bodies coming in through the door, demanding copious amounts of alcohol, Louis didn't care about where they'd come from or been.

It was during a rare quiet lull in the middle of the day when the door swung open and three young men wandered in. First, a David Beckham lookalike, with his head thrown back in a laugh at something the loud, Irish - judging by the accent, and bleached blond bloke was saying. Behind them, a taller, quiet lad with an amused look on his face and a head full of dark brown curls. Louis' attention was immediately caught by the latter, his eyes raking over the slender yet broad frame, wearing a light patterned shirt with only a cursory button or two fastened at the bottom over a pair of tight skinny black jeans, and a pair of battered old Chelsea boots on his feet.

"Err, hello?" a voice broke through his stuttering and inappropriate thoughts about the stranger, and Louis blinked a few times, before realising that the Beckhams' unknown lovechild was trying to speak to him.

"Sorry, hey! How can I help you, mate?" Louis slipped easily into his role as bartender.

"Hi, it's okay. Uh, I'm actually looking for Zayn?" he asked uncertainly. "I'm Liam, a friend from school. He said something about this place, so..."

"Ooh, yeah, yep, he did mention something about inviting you," Louis nodded quickly. "Nice to meet you, mate, I'm Louis." He held out his hand to shake. "Zayn's just out at the wholesaler’s to get some stock in for the day, but he'll be back in a while."

"Like I said, I'm Liam, this is Niall, and this is Harry," Liam introduced the others. "We might as well get a drink in then?"

"Sounds good to me," the blond - Niall - agreed, clapping his hands cheerfully. "I'll have a pint of Guinness and three shots of your finest whiskey please, lad!"

"Coming right up," Louis chuckled, immediately grabbing a pint glass from under the bar and starting the Guinness tap going. "I knew there was a reason I'd convinced Zayner to pay out for Guinness," he commented. "He didn't think it was worth it."

Niall shot him a look of horror. "I beg your pardon?" he demanded.

"We're the only bar on this strip to hold it," Louis replied. "So we actually get through a lot."

"I have exactly zero surprise about that," Niall said seriously. "It's an important drink, especially to those of us with green, white, and orange running through our blood. The fact that it's held in so few establishments here is disgraceful."

"I completely agree," Louis nodded sombrely. He set the tall pint glass in front of Niall. "Any preference on the whiskey? I've got Jameson?"

"Li, Haz, I'm not coming home with you. I'm gonna move here, and marry Louis, and live out the rest of my days in contentment."

"You're not good with the sun," Harry said flatly. "Stop getting so over-dramatic over bloody alcohol."

"You, Styles, you have no soul," Niall told him, clutching at the glasses Louis had set down. "No soul, I tell you."

"I'll have a soda water," Liam asked politely, ignoring his friends sniping at each other. "Even if I'm on holiday, I still need to control my intake and make sure my body is being treated right."

"Well, I'll be honest, you look pretty damn good from here," Louis told him, carefully sliding the glass of fizzy water over, before he looked at Harry. "And what about you, sir? Anything you see tempting you?"

Harry dragged his eyes away from the intricately designed drinks list, to finally look at Louis properly, for the first time. He raised his eyebrows slightly, not having expected there to be such a reaction from himself over the way this random barman looked. Louis was wearing a slightly loose tank top, 'Skate Tough' emblazoned across the chest, paired with a pair of the tightest skinny jeans Harry had ever seen (and he was currently wearing the tightest he could find, which had happened to be in a women's store, so the fact that Louis' were tighter - that had to be because of Louis' ass, right?). Now that he was closer to the bar, Harry could see just how blue Louis' eyes were and he was a little in awe, especially as those eyes, while so clear and sparkly and perfect, were currently fixed on him with a single eyebrow arched inquisitively.

"Uh," Harry answered unintelligently.

Louis smirked a little, and immediately slipped into his full flirting mode, ramping up the charm as he leaned forward with one elbow on the bar.

"You can have whatever you want," he practically purred.

"Louis, stop flirting with the customers," a voice broke through the almost-spell of enchantment and allure he had been weaving over Harry. "We're gonna end up with more shitty reviews on Trustpilot and TripAdviser cos of your one night stands, than we get for actual bad service. So, how about we just don't get to that point in the first place?"

"Zayn!" Louis exclaimed, immediately turning his attention to the doorway. "Your friend from school is here!"

"Friend from school?" Zayn looked at Harry in confusion. "Sorry, mate. I really don't recognise you."

"Not me," Harry said quickly. "This guy." He shoved the man in question forward a little.

"Hey Zayn," Liam murmured shyly.

"Holy shit," Zayn breathed out slowly. "Liam? Payne?"

"Y-yeah," Liam stammered. "Hi..."

"Wow, mate! It's been forever!" Zayn walked quickly over to Liam, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug, which was slowly but enthusiastically returned, and then seemed to go on a little longer than anyone in the room expected, with Harry, Niall, and Louis all exchanging raised eyebrows. "Um, you, uh," Zayn stammered as he pulled back carefully. "You really filled out, huh?" he eventually went with.

"Uh, yeah, I guess?" Liam looked a little uncertain. "I mean, I realised what the intention of a gym was, so..." he trailed off with a shrug. "You've barely changed." He reached out to touch the back of his fingers to Zayn's jaw. "Apart from this. The scruff's definitely new."

"Yes, yes, puberty's a wonderful thing," Louis interrupted. "When you two have quite finished with the mutual appreciation on how you've both grown up since you were spotty teenagers - cos who in here hasn't? - then can we move on?"

"Fully agree," Niall added quickly.

"I'm not drunk enough for this," Harry muttered.

"Right!" Louis clapped his hands. "Curly, I was in the middle of taking your order. What'll it be?"

"Well, I was gonna go with a soda water like Li, but I think I need something a bit harder," he rolled his eyes playfully and snickered softly as Louis gave him a smirk and a suggestive wink. "I'll have whichever cocktail contains the most alcohol, please."

"A  _ cock _ -tail, huh?"

"Oh my god, Lou, you are an actual child sometimes," Zayn huffed, ducking under the bar top and starting to grab various bottles off the shelves.

"Oh fuck off, Malik," Louis grumped, letting out a huff as he stepped out of the way. "What are you making him then?"

"Gonna go for an [Aunt Roberta](https://theboozesnob.wordpress.com/2016/11/15/the-aunt-roberta/)."

"I've never had an Aunt Roberta," Harry put in, leaning over the bar and watching Zayn work. "What's in it?"

"There's no mixers," Louis chuckled. "Only alcohol, alcohol, and more alcohol."

"Sounds a bit lethal for our Hazza here," Niall snickered.

"Absinthe, vodka, gin, brandy, and blackberry liqueur," Zayn stated as he poured each one into a mixer, before slipping the lid on and shaking it carefully. "Not quite the most potent, but definitely up there."

"Sounds delightful," Harry said faintly, looking a little concerned.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Haz," Liam put in warily. "It's not like you're overly brilliant at holding your drink, is it?"

"Excuse me, Liam," Harry huffed indignantly, squaring his shoulders. "I'm perfectly capable of managing one measly drink. So I'll thank you to allow me to make my own decisions."

"Okay, okay," Liam held his hands up defensively.

The other four collectively held their breath as Harry took the short tumbler that Zayn handed over. After a hesitant sniff, which made him wrinkle his nose at the strength of the alcohol smell, Harry took a deep breath and then a careful sip. As the liquid spread over his tongue, he shuddered slightly and tried to hide it. He looked around uncertainly, before he muttered a quiet 'fuck it' under his breath, and tipped the glass up, swallowing the whole drink down in a few gulps and slamming the empty glass back on the bar.

"Holy shit," Zayn said, his voice full of awe.

"I've never seen anyone do that before," Louis admitted, his eyes wide. "That was insane."

"It wasn't too bad," Harry mumbled, blinking quickly. "The absinthe and blackberry go well together."

"He's still making sense now," Zayn murmured to Liam. "But wait until the alcohol actually hits. I reckon you should grab one of the stools over."

"Already on it," Niall declared as he dragged one along the floor. "Sit yourself down before you drop, Haz. Cos none of us are gonna pick you up."

"Fuck you, Nialler," Harry said affectionately. "You know you'd carry me on your back if I need it. All while singing  _ He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother _ at the top of your voice." He pointed a slightly wavy finger at Niall's face. "Don't even tryyyyy to deny it."

"Oh, here we go," Louis chuckled. "Do you wanna get him some food, or just let it all descend into chaos?"

"Chaos sounds fun, especially when Harold's involved," Niall nodded. "He's the sloppiest, horniest, messiest drunk I've ever known, and he's not let loose since we were at uni."

"M'not horny," Harry protested, already starting to drape himself over the bar. He paused for a moment, clearly struggling to think. "Well, not yet, anyway."

Niall and Liam exchanged looks, before both of them reached out one hand, starting the universal game of rock, paper, scissors.

"What's that all about?" Louis asked curiously.

"Whoever loses has to look after Styles," Liam explained. "It's how we always decided when we were at uni. Because I don't really drink, and Niall is Irish, so has the constitution of an ox or something."

"Haz always feels the drink the worst, so he needs to be looked after," Niall continued. "We've had to rescue him from some not-very-nice situations in the past, where some not-very-nice people have tried to take advantage of him."

Louis frowned hard, gazing at the curly-haired bloke who was currently singing quietly to himself as he sprawled over the bar.

"I'll look after him," he suddenly said. "I don't mind." He looked around, seeing the expressions of disbelief on the other three men. "I mean, I'm a big brother, with many smaller siblings. One drunk lad isn't going to be as difficult as wrangling them around."

"On your head be it," Niall said quickly, cutting off Liam who was obviously about to protest. "I'll have another of your finest Guinness in that case."

The five (well, four) spent the rest of the afternoon chatting away - Liam and Zayn catching up on the time since school, while Niall and Louis repeatedly rolled their eyes at the very blatant flirting that was happening right in front of them - while Harry slumped into a deep sleep over the bar, gentle snores emitting from him every now and then. Each time Louis moved around to serve someone else who came in, he'd run a careful hand over Harry's head, checking on him to make sure he was a, still breathing, and b, not choking or anything else that could be construed as harmful. He also fended off the few blokes that dared to eye up the unconscious figure, telling them sharply to either order a drink or fuck off out of his bar, which resulted in exasperated sighs from Zayn, uncertain chuckles from Liam, and outright cackles from Niall.

They managed to get through the rest of the evening, even as it got busier - Liam and Niall hopped behind the bar to lend a hand, as Louis was on Harry-duty - until it got to closing time and Zayn flicked the lock over on the front door, leaning against it with a sigh.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but fuck me, the first night of a holiday week is always so much," he huffed out.

"I can't believe he slept through all of it," Louis said in amazement, playing gently with the ends of Harry's hair.

"He's been ridiculously stressed out over his work," Niall shared. "We've barely seen him for like, six months or something? He kept refusing to take time off, so we just booked this, spoke to his boss and got him the time off, then dragged him along. He was literally on the verge of burning out and none of us want that."

"We got permission and assistance from his mum and sister," Liam elaborated. "But yeah. He's a stresser, and we were worried. Thought a couple weeks somewhere hot and fun would be perfect. Even managed to get him to leave his camera and laptop behind, which... well, I was starting to think that camera was surgically attached to his hand, to be honest."

"It's good that he has a strong work ethic?" Louis tried.

"Not if he ends up ill because of it," Liam told him carefully. "He nearly had a breakdown in uni cos of working too much - he hasn't yet learned how to balance work and play. We keep trying, but it's like fighting a losing battle at times."

"Hopefully we can get him a bit closer to it while we're here," Niall looked a little more optimistic.

"Where are you lads staying?" Louis asked. "Cos I'm gonna hazard a guess that you're gonna want a hand getting this one back to your hotel?"

"We're staying at the Ibiza Gran Hotel," Liam said, looking a little sheepish.

"Holy shit, the five star luxury place down near the marina?" Zayn stared at him.

"In our defence, Anne told us to pick one of the nicer places so that Haz didn't get so shitty with us," Niall jumped in. "He's not exactly a snob, but he definitely prefers the finer things in life."

"And I managed to get a good deal on it by going through work's accommodation people," Liam admitted. "Probably an abuse of my privileges, but it's literally the first time I've ever done it."

"I'm a bad influence," Niall nodded seriously.

"You are."

"But you're more than welcome to come over," Liam offered to Zayn and Louis. "We got a proper suite, so there's plenty of room."

"The offer's tempting, but I have to be back here early in the morning," Louis said ruefully. "I'll help you with Harry, but then I'd better head back to my own bed and get some shut eye."

"Well, the help will definitely be appreciated," Niall nodded.

Harry managed to stir enough to sort of support himself, or at least take a certain amount of his own weight, as they got him outside. The cool breeze coming off of the sea stirred him a little more, and he grumbled under his breath as a shiver racked his body, making him curl closer to Louis, who was closest and had one arm around his waist.

"S'cold," Harry muttered. "Why'm I not asleep still? Why're we outside?"

"Cos you fell asleep on a bar, love," Louis told him gently. "We're getting you to bed now though. Just a bit of a walk first. But not far."

"Hmm, 'kay." Harry let his head loll against Louis'. "Lemme know when we get there."

"Uh huh, you just rest, love, I'll look after you," Louis chuckled, guiding him carefully down the path.

Liam slung Harry's arm over his shoulders, helping Louis to manoeuvre the somewhat gangly man along the road towards the hotel which took a lot longer than even they expected. The few times Harry stirred slightly he was obviously still a little tipsy and not in full control of his feet as he lurched left and right. When Louis commented on this, Niall was quick to disabuse him of that fact.

"Nah, it's not cos of the alcohol," he said confidently. "Haz could trip over thin air while barefoot on a flat surface. He's just naturally clumsy. Which often makes us wonder how he manages to get such good photographs, to be honest. He's far from the steadiest of people in the world, but when it comes to capturing an image, he's the best of the best."

"M'not that good," Harry murmured, his voice rough and gravelly.

"Oh hello there sunshine," Louis chuckled. "You awake?"

"Not quite, and I'd rather not be, but then I heard Niall spouting all that bollocks and wanted to contradict it."

"It's not bollocks, Haz. You're an amazing photographer," Liam assured him.

"If I was that good, then I wouldn't be constantly scrambling to try and prove myself, and I wouldn't feel ridiculously guilty about even being here right now, instead of at home getting more pictures together for the next print."

"Not my place to say, I know, but I'm pretty sure you're allowed a holiday, love," Louis said quietly. "Burnout is a thing, and it's a bad, bad, horrible thing. I've seen it before, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone." He bit his lip for a moment, then added. "I saw someone attempt suicide, they were so burnt out."

"I would never --" Harry spluttered.

"Not saying you would, just putting it out there that it happens, that's all," Louis quickly reassured him. "And y'know, we've only just met - I'd hate for you to leave me so quickly." He paused for a moment, then frowned. "Cos that's a pretty drastic way of telling me you're not interested, y'know? I'm perfectly good with the 'thanks but no thanks' brush off."

"You're interested?" Harry looked almost confused as he found his feet and took a few steps on his own, as Liam and Niall dropped back with Zayn, talking quietly among themselves. "In me?"

"Well, y'know, you're not exactly hard on the eyes, and your friends have done nothing but sing your praises." Louis shrugged slightly. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for the curls."

Harry ran a self-conscious hand through his hair.

"I've not exactly been the most... awake person in the world," he said nervously.

"I've seen someone lose consciousness for three days after one of Zayn's cocktails," Louis told him. "You're definitely ahead of the curve, especially if that's after a lot of work and not much play for so long."

Harry blinked slowly.

"I'm... not sure I'm awake enough to understand that statement fully, but I'll take your word for it," he sighed.

They continued on along for a while in companionable silence, letting the sounds of the clubs around them filter through the air, until they stopped at a call from Liam.

"This is it!"

"Fuck me, there's a gate and everything," Louis muttered. "Definitely the poshest of the hotels along here."

"I had nothing to do with the hotel selection," Harry said quickly.

"I know, love, Niall and Liam already explained. Your mum's to blame," he finished with a wink.

"Oh, I didn't know that part. I'm gonna have words, it seems."

"Nah, sounds like she was only worried about you. Mums are allowed to do that."

"We'll see you tomorrow then?" Zayn asked, stepping over next to Louis.

"For sure, pet," Niall nodded enthusiastically. "We'll get this one to stay awake, too," he added, ignoring Harry's protesting sounds.

"We've got an activity booked for the morning - late morning and into the afternoon. Niall, don't look at me like that," Liam amended quickly. "But we should be done by about 3pm or so?"

"I wanna spend some time relaxing on the beach," Harry put in. "If I'm gonna be here for a fortnight, I wanna get nice and tanned, and I wanna be properly relaxed. I'm giving in to this whole thing, and I'm gonna have a proper fucking holiday."

"That is an excellent plan," Louis grinned. "I'm spending the morning interviewing bar staff, and then balancing the books."

"Shouldn't you be helping with that?" Liam asked Zayn, raising an eyebrow.

"Lou's better off with human resources than I am," Zayn shrugged. "Apparently, people think I don't like them."

"You're just... reticent," Louis explained. "It's not a bad thing. It just means that you're shit at telling people what you think or feel. Plus, folk tend to take it personally when you don't gush all over them about how wonderful they are. And they expect your personality to be as gorgeous as your face, and they're always woefully disappointed."

"Oi, I'm a fucking delight, thank you," Zayn protested, causing the other four to laugh.

"That you are, lad, that you are," Louis agreed as he chuckled. "C'mon then. We need to get home, my bed is calling me desperately and I have a stupid early alarm."

"Thanks for your hospitality today," Liam said, a little cordially.

"Thanks for jumping in and lending a hand, mate," Louis countered. "We would've been swamped this evening if you two hadn't helped out." He rolled his eyes slightly. "Hence the interviews tomorrow."

"You're more than welcome," Niall beamed.

"You helped out?" Harry looked confused. "What... where was I?"

"Unconscious on the bar," Liam muttered. "We've told you this already, mate."

"Oh."

"Let's get inside and get you into a proper bed. Night Louis, night Zayn." Liam took Harry's arm gently and guided him over to the gate, tapping their room card against the pad there, which allowed them access through a door.

"Night lads!" Niall waved as he followed.

Zayn shook his head and slung his arm around Louis' waist as they both turned for home.

"I think that was the most random evening in a long time," he muttered.

"Want a cig?" Louis asked, tugging a box out of his back pocket.

"Stupid question," Zayn grabbed one before the offer could be rescinded. "So, what did you think of them?"

"Nice group of lads, I suppose," Louis shrugged, then got a cheeky grin on his face. "Seems you like your Liam."

"Shut up. Like you weren't any better over Harry."

"Excuse me," Louis spluttered. "The boy needed to be looked after, that's all. I'm used to looking after the girls. It was second nature."

"Uh huh, and the checking him out? Was that second nature too? Or was that just your hormones?"

"Fuck off, Malik."

~~~~~~

The next day, Harry was up earlier than either of the others - he figured that was due to all of the sleep he'd had the previous evening - so he slipped into a pair of shorts and his reliable Nikes, before he slapped a load of suncream on, shoved his sunnies on his nose, and headed out along the beach for a gentle run in the early morning sunshine. His thoughts were for once not on his work and the time he was wasting by not being in London, but instead were tangled up in the man who had looked after him so well the day before. He was a little embarrassed by the display he'd made - getting drunk on a single drink and passing out for over six hours was far from the best impression to make on a person, especially one that he may potentially have ideas on, the naked and sweaty kind of ideas - but it did show him a side of the bloke that was particularly nice to see, that he may not have otherwise been privy to.

Harry huffed out a sigh as he picked up the pace a little. He knew that there was no point in getting emotionally involved with anyone right now - his work was still important, even though he wasn't there. He would need to pick it back up when he returned, and possibly work even harder to make up the time he'll have lost while playing on the party island. He knew his boss was a little concerned with how much overtime he'd been putting in - even though Harry had lost track of how many times he'd told her that he didn't need or want paying (which may have been a bit of a stretch, but he was making ends meet, while doing a job he loved, and that's all that really mattered) - but he knew that his work had improved in leaps and bounds since he'd taken the position.

He also knew that his family - his mum, his ever-nosy sister, even his dad to some extent - were all worried about him. He'd never made it a secret that he wanted to get married to a man, the love of his life, and settle down with a veritable brood of children, and he wanted to do it as soon as possible so he would still be young enough to run around after the kids and enjoy it all. Instead, life had turned out differently - he'd not yet met the love of his life so he was still nowhere near the settling down part. Part of him hated that it was still so distant, but for the most part he'd learned the exceptional art of wilful ignorance. If he kept pretending that it didn't matter to him any more, then maybe, hopefully, he'd eventually feel that way.

But then... something like this had happened. He knew it was a ridiculous thing to feel, he'd literally only exchanged a handful of words with the bloke before he'd got rat-arsed, and most of them had been more on the confrontational side than friendly, but there was something about Louis that was getting under his skin. He shook his head at his thoughts as he let himself back into the hotel grounds and hopped into the elevator to take him back up to the right floor.

"Where have you been?" Liam immediately asked as Harry pushed open the door to the suite. "Oh. Don't answer that." He pulled a face. "I can smell. Go shower, Styles. You don't half reek."

"Thanks for that," Harry muttered. "Just wanted to get the blood going a bit."

"Think you managed that, Haz," Niall chuckled. "Don't bother messing about with your hair though, Li's been filling me in with what we're doing this morning. It's gonna get all messed up again, and you're gonna get all smelly again, so just have a rinse off."

Harry paused in the bathroom doorway, looking at his friends with a small bit of apprehension.

"Do I even wanna know?" he asked uncertainly.

"Probably not," Niall replied cheerfully. "But get on with it."

"I'll be out in a bit," Harry sighed.

Less than an hour later, all three were decked out in life jackets and walking down a pier, while Harry still looked confused.

"How do you feel about water skiing?" Liam asked conversationally.

"And how do you feel about adding a kite to the mix?" Niall added.

"I... don't think I know enough about either to comment," Harry replied slowly. "I'm guessing that's what we're going to be doing?"

"Yes, yes we are!" Liam said enthusiastically. "I thought it'd be a great activity for our first full day, to properly blow the cobwebs out from the dull drudgery of work and home."

"I don't find work and home dull or drudgery," Harry protested mildly.

"Lucky you, the rest of us spend at least 39 hours a week bored out of our skulls," Niall muttered. "Just go listen to the nice person as they tell you how not to kill yourself. You'll need to listen carefully, cos I'm not jumping in the water to save your clumsy ass."

Harry was still looking doubtful, but dutifully listened to the safety speech and asked a few relevant questions about the experience itself. Before he knew it, he was being strapped into the harness at the end of the pier while someone attached a thick rope to it.

Three hours later, after they'd both had three turns at the extreme sport, they made their way slowly back towards the hotel, laughing and joking and shoving each other around. As Liam had originally said, it had definitely cleared their heads out and got them firmly into holiday mode.

"So, are we heading back to the bar?" Liam asked, with a forced attempt at being casual.

"Yes, Liam, and you're as subtle as a sledgehammer, FYI," Niall teased. "We can go see Zaynie."

"Don't be a dick," Liam huffed. "I just thought it'd be nice to go and help them again. If they've not got any more staff yet, y'know?"

"Weren't you the one on about the dull drudgery of work earlier?" Harry asked in amusement. "But now you wanna go... to work?"

"I don't work in a bar normally," Liam protested. "So this isn't like work for me, is it?"

"I dunno about you, Haz, but all I'm hearing is excuses. What do you think?"

"I completely agree, Nialler. It's one after another." Harry shook his head slowly. "And to think, he promotes honesty in his line of work."

"I do?" Liam looked slightly confused.

"You're a personal trainer, Li, you expect your clients to be honest with you about what they've eaten, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah... I guess." He pouted slightly. "I feel like you're holding my own personality against me right now."

"Awww, look at that puppy face, Haz," Niall cooed. "We can't be too mean to him."

"Awww, you're right," Harry joined in. "Okay, okay, Leemo, we'll be nice. Let's just get back to the hotel, shower, eat, and then we can wander back to the bar. Maybe there'll be sights to see along the way?"

"That sounds like an excellent plan, Mr Styles," Niall nodded quickly.

Within two hours, they were laughing their way in through the front door of the bar, attracting the attention of a young brunet lad behind the bar.

"Good afternoon!" he greeted them cheerfully, a Canadian twang evident in his voice.

"Oh jeez, calm it down, buddy," Louis muttered, coming out of the office. "Especially as it's only them."

"Oi, that's not very nice," Zayn protested. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"You got a newbie!" Harry said enthusiastically. "Hi there, newbie!"

"Don't give him anything strong," Zayn immediately told the new guy. "He's a lightweight and will pass out on the bar."

"That was  _ one _ time," Harry protested. "And you only met me yesterday!"

"That's quite the impression to have made," the new guy commented.

"We literally flew in yesterday and came straight here," Harry tried, huffing slightly when he looked around at the blank faces as his excuses weren't working. "Fine, fine. I'm a lightweight. Moving on. What's your name, newbie?"

"I'm Shawn, I'm here for the summer. Figured I needed a job to pay for like... rent and food. The important stuff."

"Always a good idea," Harry nodded sagely.

"I think Niall's broken," Liam murmured.

Harry looked around, then snickered at the almost glazed-over expression on Niall's face as he stared at Shawn.

"I think he's found his holiday romance," Harry grinned.

"Possibly," Liam agreed with a smirk. "What about you, Haz?"

"What about me? I'm happy being single, you know that."

"No, you're not. But a fling might get you back on the horse again."

"Ibiza's good for hookups, but I wouldn't recommend the place as a good base for a relationship," Louis muttered. "Holiday romances never last."

"So speaketh the master...?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "You had a few failed holiday romances, then?"

"Just the one, and that was more than enough, thanks."

Liam elbowed Harry gently as he spotted Zayn behind Louis frantically gesturing for them to stop the conversation.

"Errr, I'm sorry to hear that," Harry looked around wildly, before he waved at Shawn. "I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea, please. Just one, and I'll make it last. But I've eaten plenty today, so I'm sure I'll be able to handle it far better than yesterday."

"Make it weak," Zayn insisted. "I'm not taking any risks with you, Styles."

"It wasn't you who had to help him home," Louis grouched.

"Right. You. Office, now."

Zayn glared at his business partner and pointed - a little over-dramatically in Louis' opinion - at the office door. Louis opened his mouth as he thought about protesting, but then caught sight of the look in Zayn's eye and huffed as he walked over reluctantly.

"Can you help Shawn if he needs it please, Liam?" Zayn checked, squeezing Liam's arm as he nodded, before following Louis into the office.

"I dunno what this is about," Louis immediately muttered as soon as the door was closed.

"Sit. Down." Zayn said firmly.

Louis let out a loud and stroppy sigh and did as he was told, folding his arms over his chest in a perfect picture of teenage sulking.

"Okay, so, we're gonna have a little talk about what is going on in that head of yours," Zayn started. "But first of all," he held up a hand as Louis began to protest. "First of all, I'm going to tell you what I think is going on." He levelled Louis with a steady look. "You're freaking out because you like Harry, and you don't know how to handle the way that feels, especially as you've only exchanged a few words with him, before he passed out cold, and then you helped him back to his hotel. You realised that the whole experience reeked a little of the way you and Greg started, and you've freaked." He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "But Harry isn't Greg, and this is nowhere near the same thing. I was talking to Liam this morning, while you were interviewing Shawn. He said that Harry wants a relationship. He wants the wedding, the kids, the white picket bloody fence. The whole kit and caboodle."

"I never said I wanted that," Louis muttered.

"Am I supposed to believe that you don't?" Zayn raised an eyebrow. "I've known you for long enough now, babe. You want the big wedding, you want the perfect husband, you want the beautiful kids - enough for a football team, I reckon."

"Whatever. It's not like Harry's gonna want that from some bloke who runs a bar on the party island of the Med, is he? Besides which, I've literally just met the guy." He looked at Zayn with a querying look. "Aren't you and Liam getting a little ahead of yourselves?"

"Nah, we've both just got a feeling about you," Zayn shrugged. "And Niall's on board with it too. He reckons we have to believe him cos he's got leprechaun in him. Or something."

"I can well believe that," Louis nodded seriously. "Have you seen the little shit? Although if my eyes weren't failing me, he's now got some ideas on our new bartender... which I'm less sure about."

"That'll be fun to watch," Zayn smirked.

"So will you and Liam. Just how long are you planning on dancing around each other, exactly?" Louis asked slyly. "Only cos I'm sure I can get a bet placed with the other lads, and I wanna make sure I win."

"Shut the fuck up and get back on topic," Zayn huffed. "You need to chill. Let whatever's gonna happen with Harry, happen. It's not going to be a repeat of Greg - for one, they're nothing alike, and second, no two relationships are ever alike. But you're gonna fuck this up if you don't calm your ass down." His expression softened as he pulled Louis into a reassuring hug. "I love you, bro, and I want to see you happy. I hate that you're a bit miserable lately."

"I'm not miserable," Louis pouted.

"Well, maybe not miserable, but you're definitely not the sparkly full of beans lad I knew first."

"That's cos I'm not 18 any more."

"That's a ridiculous excuse that I refuse to accept, especially because if you shaved off your scruff, you'd look like you did the day we met."

"Except for the ink."

"Yeah, except for that. But that suits you, I've told you that repeatedly."

"Hmm."

"You've got me off track again. Stop it."

Louis grinned brightly at his best friend, squeezing him gently.

"Okay, I'll be nice to Harry, and see what happens, if anything does." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I've been a bit of a dick, so I wouldn't be surprised if the guy wants nothing to do with me again."

"And you underestimate the power of Louis Tomlinson in full-on flirt mode," Zayn snickered. "You turn it on, and ramp it up to full power, and he won't know what's hit him. Trust me. You'll have him in your bed before the end of the night if you really try."

"You make me sound so fucking shallow," Louis huffed as he stood, making his way to the door. "I'm fairly certain it won't be  _ quite _ that simple."

"We'll see."

~~~~~~

Out in the bar, Niall had finally found his tongue and was chatting up a storm with Shawn, overwhelming the Canadian with what sounded to Harry and Liam like his entire life history, in a thicker Irish accent than either of them had heard from him in years.

"I don't think he sounded this Irish when he came back from his brother's wedding," Liam muttered. "And I'm sure he said he spent most of that properly pissed on Guinness and Jameson mixed with Jägermeister and Red Bull."

"Uh huh," Harry agreed. "Is this what he gets like when he's flirting? Cos... I gotta admit... I'm a little scared. And also slightly relieved that we've never seen it before."

"Dude, same. I also wish we'd not seen it now, if I'm completely honest."

"Sorry about that lads, not sure what was wrong with me," Louis interrupted. "You got your drinks okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Harry gave him a smile. "Your new boy can mix a drink alright." He pulled a face. "But now we're having to watch the traditional Irish mating ritual or something. Which is... pretty much burning my eyes."

Louis glanced over and stared a little as he watched Niall lean on the bar with one elbow, the other hand waving his pint glass of Guinness around as he spoke enthusiastically to a very attentive Shawn, who was watching him like he hung the sun, moon, and stars.

"I'm not sure which is more disturbing," Louis commented. "The excessive Irish, which definitely wasn't there last night, or the fact that my new bartender is practically drooling on the bar."

"Both, both are terrifying," Liam said quickly.

Louis snickered as he slipped under the bar and served the customer that Shawn had somehow not noticed - probably on account of how distracted he was by Niall.

"So, what are you planning on doing this evening?" Zayn asked Liam, slipping onto a stool next to him.

"We hadn't really thought much further than coming here, to be honest," Liam shrugged. "You got any suggestions?"

"We shut earlier on Mondays," Louis put in. "So we could hit up one of the clubs? They're all open all night, so it's not like you're gonna miss much."

"You inviting yourself along, then?" Harry asked, leaning on the bar towards him.

"Well, I figure you're gonna need someone to look after those giraffe-like limbs of yours, Curly," Louis smirked, tugging gently at one of the curls that had fallen down into Harry's eyes. "Especially if you drink a lot again."

"I'm not gonna get as drunk today," Harry declared. "I wanna actually remember some of this enforced holiday, considering I can't go home early."

"Aww, would you really want to, Haz?" Liam asked with a pout.

"Of course not, Leemo." Harry pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you for making me come here. I think it's already doing me some good."

"Glad to hear it, now have another drink. You may not be getting drunk, but we do like you tipsy. If only for our amusement."

Harry stuck his tongue out playfully, but handed his glass over to Louis.

"Another Long Island, please. I'll try and stick with the one drink."

"Excellent plan," Louis nodded, as he turned to mix up the cocktail, making it slightly stronger than Shawn had done before. "You want another, Liam?"

"I'm saying yes for him," Harry put in quickly. "He went through this whole thing a while ago where he reckoned he only had one kidney, so he couldn't drink alcohol?" He put a hand out over Liam's mouth as he started to protest. "Then, like, he had all these tests done, and it grew back? How does that even happen?"

"What the fuck, Liam?" Louis stared at him incredulously. "That sounds like the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard, if I'm honest."

"No, see, he's telling it wrong," Liam managed to get out, after pulling Harry's hand away. "When I was a baby, they said I had an underdeveloped kidney. I was in and out of hospital a lot as a kid - you remember that?" He asked Zayn, who nodded, but looked a little baffled. "They kept doing all these tests, but decided when I was like, twelve, that it would never change. So they told my mum and dad that when I was old enough, I wasn't to drink alcohol, which I didn't. But then I had to go to Thailand for work, so I needed to go get some injections for that, and the doctor did a full workup of my bloods and stuff, and it turns out that my dodgy kidney has caught up with the other and I'm normal or whatever."

"That  **is** the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard," Louis confirmed. "I think you need to take those doctors from when you were a kid to court, mate. Cos it sounds like they swindled the shit out of you and your parents."

Harry let out a ridiculously loud honk of a laugh, slapping his knee as he chortled, gaining him an affectionate grin from Louis, and bewildered looks from Liam and Zayn, while even Niall looked around in confusion.

"Sorry," Harry muttered, still giggling into his hand as he took a large sip of his fresh drink.

"I vaguely remember you missing a load of school," Zayn offered. "I remember that a lot of the kids used it against you."

"Yeah," Liam huffed out a sigh. "Wasn't the nicest time in my education. But you were always a brilliant friend."

Zayn blushed and shifted his weight slightly, shrugging one shoulder.

"Anywayyy," Louis put in. "So. Clubbing tonight? And a drink now, Lima?"

"Yes to both!" Harry immediately answered. "I feel like dancing," he added, shimmying his shoulders a little.

"Oh jeez," Liam mumbled. "This is gonna be messy." He looked down to the other end of the bar and raised his voice. "Niall! Harry wants to dance!"

"Feck me, clear the fecking dance floor and get the ambulance on fecking standby, there'll be injuries f'sure!" Niall yelled back.

"So, fucking, Irish," Louis shook his head in disbelief.

"I think both of you are being rude and uncalled for," Harry pouted. "I haven't needed an ambulance before."

"No, but that poor girl who was innocently grinding on her girlfriend needed attention from the First Aider on site when you caught her cheek with your flailing arms and managed to cut her skin with one of your rings," Liam said drily.

"That was  _ one time _ . I apologised, and took them both out for dinner the next week!"

"He did spend the rest of that evening crying," Liam conceded. "He was also incredibly drunk. It was the night after our first midterms."

"You sound absolutely adorable to be around near a dance floor, love," Louis reassured Harry. "I look forward to seeing your moves."

"I'm sticking with Louis tonight," Harry declared. "He's nice, and he appreciates me for who I am, without mocking me at every possible opportunity, unlike some people who shall remain nameless, but declare themselves to be my friends."

"Dude, if it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have even met Louis, so let's dial the drama back a notch, yeah?" Liam rolled his eyes.

"See what I have to put up with?" Harry gestured.

~~~~~~

The evening progressed with a little more drink for Harry, Liam, and Niall, while Louis, Zayn, and Shawn worked to serve the many customers that kept a continual stream through the door, until Louis rang the bell for last orders just before midnight.

"Last orders, folks!" he called. "Drink up - our licence is only till half twelve, and we're not having it revoked for you bunch of losers."

"How do you keep customers?" Liam shook his head.

"Told you before, pal, we're the most British bar on the strip," Louis grinned. "Folk come in here for the ambience. Apparently we keep it like they're used to at home, but we charge about five percent more than they pay at home. They just don't realise cos it's in Euros, and they're on holiday so they don't give a shit. They're here to have fun, get wasted, and have a holiday that they'll barely remember."

"I would say that's a cynical view, but I'm kinda leaning more towards diabolical," Liam chuckled.

"Nah, it's just business," Louis shrugged. "We drop our prices in the off season. So we're actually cheaper than home then. People spend even more then. We're just not allowed to be that cheap during peak season, cos it means we're undercutting the competition by too much."

"Business regulations are boring and extensive," Zayn put in. "Trust us, we know."

"Sounds like the sorta thing to read if you've got insomnia," Harry mumbled into his fifth Long Island Iced Tea.

"Oi, Styles, you'd better not be getting sleepy on me," Louis prodded his arm. "You promised me dancing."

"I can dance! I'm awake!" Harry insisted, sitting upright. "Have you got any Red Bull?"

Louis snickered as he slid a large can across the bar.

"No charge for that, love," he winked as Harry reached for his wallet. "I want you awake for selfish reasons, so I'll fund this one."

Within ten minutes of clearing the bar out and locking up, Zayn, Louis, and Shawn had necked a few shots in an attempt to catch up with the other three, and the six lads were out walking down the road towards what Zayn had insisted was the best club within walking distance.

"There's another one that is fractionally better, but it's about a half hour walk, and I figure we don't want anyone sobering up too much on the way," he explained.

"Wherever you suggest," Liam beamed. "I think we're happy to go wherever you think."

"Liam's definitely happy to go wherever Zayn says," Harry murmured to Louis. "Even if it's the dangerous journey into Zayn's pants."

"I'm sure Zayn would cheerfully give him directions and a map," Louis replied. "Probably even show him the way in case he got lost."

"Oh of course," Harry nodded, snickering into his hand as he leaned against Louis' side, somehow making himself slightly smaller to fit against Louis' shorter frame.

"We can hear you, you know," Liam pointed out. "You're not exactly quiet, and it's not like either of you have much of a leg to stand on."

"Would be a bit hypocritical, babe," Zayn glared teasingly at Louis.

Louis merely lifted his middle finger in reply, and stopped when they reached a line of people.

"This the one, Z?" he asked.

"Yep, I know the bouncers, so c'mon," Zayn grinned and led the way to the front of the queue, greeting one of the larger men who was standing there with a fist bump.

Louis rolled his eyes a little at Harry as they all followed Zayn inside a few moments later, to the loud protestations from those still in the queue.

"Always had a way with people," Louis leaned against Harry, raising his voice to be heard over the music. "He thinks it's his sparkling personality. I've never had the heart to tell him that it's his looks that do all the work with people who don't know him. His personality only works if you know him. Cos then you know that he's the sappiest fucker that walked the planet and he's the easiest pushover that ever existed."

"You gonna keep talking about Zayn all night?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's my best friend, but... um... no?" Louis tried.

"Good. Cos I think we should go dance. I love this song."

The beat of Florence + The Machine's  _ Spectrum _ made the air vibrate around them as Harry took Louis' hand and moved quickly between the mass of bodies until he reached the centre of the room and immediately started to move.

Louis stared a little in disbelief, because despite all previous evidence to the contrary - Harry's natural clumsiness had been obvious on the walk from the bar when he tripped over his own feet every ten metres or so - as soon as he started to dance, Harry found an inner grace and rhythm that immediately caused Louis' jeans to feel a bit tight. It took a few beats before he could catch up and he started to dance as well, slipping a hand onto Harry's hip and gently pulling him closer.

The bass continued to thump loudly, and he could hear Harry singing along to the music. Louis gave him a small smile, which caused Harry to grin back and then turn around, pressing his ass firmly back into Louis' lap. Louis let out a low groan against his shoulder, gently grinding back into him.

The song played out and blended seamlessly into the next, and they continued to dance, hands sliding over each other in teasing touches and caresses. Time seemed to become a non-entity and everything else fell away as they moved, losing themselves in each other and the beat. Neither had any idea how long they'd been wrapped up in other each when they eventually decided to head for the bar for a drink - having worked up quite a thirst.

Louis led the way, with Harry holding onto his hand like a lifeline, weaving their way through the crowd until they reached their friends who were waiting at the bar.

"Finally come up for air then?" Zayn shouted over the music with a smirk, letting out a loud laugh when Louis flipped him off.

"You having a good time?" Liam asked Harry, who beamed and held his thumb up.

"Great time," Harry leaned in to call. "Just need a drink. It's fucking hot out there."

"Yeah, the temperature definitely seemed to be rising pretty fast," Liam grinned, then squeezed Harry's arm. "It's nice to see you let loose a bit."

Harry just grinned and gave him a cheeky wink, before he pressed himself against Louis' back and reached around to grab the drink Louis had just bought him.

"Thanks," he said against Louis' ear, feeling him shiver. Harry smirked to himself, before he breathed out slowly against Louis' skin.

Louis bit his lip to stifle a low moan, throwing back the shot he'd ordered for himself, and then leaned back into Harry's embrace, turning his head to look up at him.

"You're welcome," he replied roughly. "Let me know if you need anything else."

Harry slid his hand around onto Louis' stomach, slipping his fingers under the hem of his tshirt and stroking the bare skin there.

"Anything?" Harry asked in a low murmur.

"I, uh, um," Louis stammered. "I-I think we, uh, we can come to some kind of, err, agreement."

Harry carefully turned Louis around to face him and, completely ignoring the wolf whistles from their friends at either side, lowered his head and pressed a kiss firmly to his lips. Louis immediately responded in kind, sliding his hands up over Harry's arms as he pressed his body fully against Harry's and let out a low moan. Harry slid a hand up into Louis' hair, holding his head in place as he deepened the kiss further. Once again, they lost themselves in each other, forgetting their surroundings and their friends, and even the pounding music.

They spent the rest of the night intimately wrapped up together, barely leaving each other's sides. When the lights came up in the club at the end of the night - or rather the early hours of the morning - they clung to each other as they staggered outside.

"Harry! Harry! Haz, Hazza," Liam chanted, feeling the alcohol even more now that they were out in the cooler air.

"Leemo!" Harry replied happily, taking half a step away from Louis to throw his arms open towards his friend. "You're here!"

"So are you!" Liam giggled, stumbling over to hug Harry tightly. "Okay, so. I reckon. Right. I reckon. You should probably, definitely, maybe, potentially, see if you can go home with Louis Louis, cos like... I think you might be gonna have the sex. And I don't wanna hear it. And Nialler doesn't wanna hear it. So like. It's probably better if you went to his... y'know?"

"Noooo, no, that... that's very... pres-- presump-- prump-- you're saying things you don't know," Harry slurred slightly. "I can't just... invite myself over, that's like.. rude."

"Curly, I can hear you," Louis snickered. "You're more than welcome to come over. But Zayn's gonna have to find somewhere else." Louis smirked as he stepped closer to Harry, playing with the hem of his shirt. "Cos if we're gonna have the sex, it's gonna be fucking loud, babe."

"Zaynie can come back with me!" Liam declared, slinging his arm over Zayn's shoulders. "That okay? There's plenty of room. Harry's Mum insisisisted on us getting a decent room. So it's like..." he threw his other arm out wide. "Massive."

"Have we lost Niall?" Harry asked with a frown, looking around in confusion.

"He was last seen with his tongue down my new bartender's throat, so I'm guessing he's good," Louis assured him. "Maybe just drop him a text to let him know where you're going?"

"A text? Ooh, with the phones. Yes."

"Okay, let's move it along then. We'll see you tomorrow, lads."

"Bye, Lou," Zayn waved. "Be good. And if you can't be good, be careful," he added with a wink.

"Yeah, thanks Mum," Louis rolled his eyes. "Get back safely."

"How are you the soberestest?" Harry asked, looking at him adorably. "I swear you had at least.. AT LEAST.. as much as me. And I'm," he cleared his throat and straightened up in an attempt to look slightly presentable. "Slightly tipsy."

"You're well on your way to trollied, love," Louis chuckled. "And I dunno. I guess I have a high constitution or something. I blame me mum."

"Your mum sounds like an amazing lady," Harry murmured, leaning heaving against Louis as they walked down the road. "I hope she knows she has an amazing son."

"I hope she's proud of me too," Louis whispered. "Wherever she is."

Harry pulled back a little, looking at Louis in confusion, before his eyes widened and he quickly went from slouching all over Louis to holding him gently in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Lou," he whispered, already sounding a lot more sober.

"It's okay, love," Louis patted his hair gently. "It happened a couple of years ago now. She was sick, and the doctors did everything they could, but..." he trailed off with a small shrug. "It happens. And I had to be strong for my family." He gave Harry a tender smile. "They all pushed me to do this - I wasn't planning on leaving Doncaster at all after Mum went, even though Zayn and I had all these big ideas for the bar. Lottie and Fizzy, the two eldest of my sisters, they told me in no uncertain terms that I was getting on the damn plane with Zayn and opening up the damn bar." He chuckled softly. "They both looked so much like Mum in that moment, there was no way I could argue any further. Then Zayn agreed to the name, which was perfect."

"Jay's Place?" Harry checked.

"Yeah, Jay, Johannah, my mum."

"That's beautiful, Lou."

"Lottie's been out here once, she came for our opening night," Louis continued. "She said Mum would've loved it, which is..." he scrambled around for the right word, "more than I could ever hope for," he eventually went with. "Fizzy should be over the week after next, I think. The younger kids are too small to come anywhere near here, so I go home to see them. Which may be a little more regularly now that we've got Shawn." He paused for a moment. "Wow, that was definitely a mood killer. Way to go, Louis. Pick up a guy and spend the whole walk back to your place talking about your Mum. Nice work cock-blocking yourself. Twat."

"No, no!" Harry protested quickly. "I like hearing about your family, Lou. I wish I could've met your mum. And I'm glad your sisters are awesome and supportive. My big sister was in collusion with Ni and Li and Mum to get me here. So. I know what sisters can be like when they're left unchecked."

"They're a law unto themselves, aren't they?" Louis snickered.

"Uh huh. It's scary at times." Harry shivered a little as a breeze caught him unaware. "I'm really glad I came though. And I know it's only taken me like... twenty four hours to change my mind, but I mean it. I didn't realise quite how much I needed a break."

"That's good though, right?" Louis slipped his arm around Harry's waist again, gently squeezing as they kept walking.

"Yeah. I'll have a lot of work to do when I get home, but maybe by the time I leave I won't feel like it's such a chore? Or, no, chore's the wrong word," Harry was almost tripping over his words. "More like, the desperation to do so much won't be there, and I'll have regained my passion for it, y'know? It'll be fun again, and I'll wanna do it, and I'll find things that I'm interested in, and then my work'll be better and then the recognition that I've been trying to get for what seems like forever will actually come around... and I'm rambling. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, babe, you're doing okay," Louis chuckled softly. "I like listening to you speak. Your voice is very soothing."

"Hmm, you mean boring."

"No, I mean soothing. Why would you think I meant that?"

"I've been told it so many times, that I have a boring voice, that drones on." Harry rolled his eyes. "I've been hearing that for as long as I can remember."

"Well, whoever said that is talking out of their ass, babe," Louis protested. "Your voice is amazing. Better than mine, all high and feminine."

"It's not feminine!" Harry huffed. "I love it. It's all soft and raspy and gets me in just the right places."

"In the right places, huh?" Louis raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Uh huh," Harry nodded enthusiastically. "And don't get me started on your accent," he added with a low growl.

"Oh Harry, you are going to be very bad for my ego, I can already foresee it."

Harry just gave him a beaming grin and tripped over his feet again, causing Louis to grab him tighter.

"Oops," Harry mumbled.

"Hi, love," Louis replied. "This is my place."

"You live over the bar," Harry pointed out. 

Louis stopped and stared at the front of the bar, then looked at Harry with wide eyes.

"Oh my god, I had no idea," he said, deadpan. "I'm so glad you told me, cos mate. I hadn't realised."

"Shut uuup," Harry grumbled, pushing Louis slightly. "I just didn't realise you lived so close to your work."

"Yeah, it made more sense to just buy the building, rather than only the bar," Louis chuckled as he unlocked the bottom door. "There's actually two flats above it, but we've only got one sorted out, which is why Zayn and I live together. We're hoping to get the other decorated and organised after this season's done. So we can stop living and working in each other's pockets. And so if we ever actually get the chance to meet anyone, we haven't gotta exile the other somewhere else."

"Like tonight?" Harry raised an eyebrow, following Louis up the stairs.

"Uh, yeah," Louis blushed. "Like tonight." He unlocked another door and pushed it open. "Welcome to my humble home."

"Wow, Lou, this is amazing," Harry murmured in awe, stepping inside the large open flat. "It's beautiful. I bet it's gorgeous in the daytime."

"Well, you'll see tomorrow, won't you?" Louis asked, closing the door and flicking the lock and bolts across. "But yeah, it's pretty awesome. Upstairs is even better, and I've already called shotgun on it against Zayn, so I'm looking forward to moving up."

"It's better than this? How is that even possible?" Harry shook his head, still taking in the sight of the exposed beams and soft white curtains, with the large comfy-looking sofa taking up the bulk of the space in the lounge.

"It has bigger windows, and two balconies - one around one end of the building. The kitchen's a bit bigger, and you can see the sea from the balcony of the master bedroom. I'm planning on putting a little table and chairs out there, so I can have breakfast." Louis let out a snort. "Y'know, when I eventually find the time to have a relaxing morning, instead of rushing downstairs to accept an order, or submit the figures to our accountant. Maybe in like, twenty years or something."

Harry leaned against one of the support pillars, watching him quietly.

"You think you'll still be here then?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I dunno," Louis shrugged. "Maybe we'll have expanded by then. Maybe I'll have a luxury villa over on one of the posh islands. Or like, in the Caribbean. That'd be nice. A string of Jay's Places around the world."

"Keep your mum alive via the medium of alcohol," Harry joked.

"I reckon she'd be happy with that," Louis nodded. "She liked a glass or two of wine of an evening. Or a shot of vodka or ten on a night out," he added with a snicker, then let out a groan. "Fuck sake, Tommo! Quit talking about your mum!"

"I brought her up this time," Harry offered. "But apart from the string of bars and the villa in the Caribbean, what else would you like in your future?"

"I haven't really thought about it, if I'm honest," Louis shrugged, moving across to sit cross-legged on the sofa and gesturing for Harry to join him. "I would love to have a family - I mean, I've got a family, obviously. But my sisters, they're all gonna grow up, get married, have kids of their own - or not, y'know, it's their decision. But I don't really wanna wind up as the weird bachelor uncle who just appears now and then with gifts. Or hangs around all the time like a bad smell, and looks creepy."

"I don't think you could ever look creepy," Harry insisted as he plonked down opposite Louis.

"Well, maybe not creepy, but you know what I mean. I think I'd like my own family. A husband, a dog, a few kids." He thought for a moment. "Okay, maybe a lot of kids - I wouldn't mind my own little football team, if I'm honest," he blushed, then cleared his throat. "What about you, Curly? What do you see in your future?"

"Um, if I'm honest? The same," Harry admitted. "Husband, kids, a cat, the whole lot."

Louis gazed at him, unable to stop the affection and fond expression as he unabashedly examined the man sat in front of him. Unbidden, his thoughts had already begun to formulate imaginary pictures of a future with this lanky, curly, green-eyed... he thought he may be slightly over-dramatic in using the term, but they were his thoughts and no one else had access, so he was gonna go with it --  _ god _ . Thoughts of how their lives would play out, with a wedding, with kids, a dog  _ and _ a cat, and time spent with their extended families - his sisters and their kids, Harry's sister and her family, Zayn and Liam (because that was obviously going to be a thing), and maybe Niall and Shawn (although the thought of considering the slightly geeky lad he'd just employed as a member of his family may be a bit of stretch, but hey, he's been drinking, and this is his imagination, not for public consumption). The scary thing was that it wasn't scary. It almost felt like coming home, in a way he'd not really felt since his mum had died.

He let out a long shaky breath, and shook his head slightly. He'd definitely not been getting enough sleep lately. The guy was on holiday, and wasn't even a one night stand yet, and Louis was already thinking of wedding bells and tiny feet. He licked his lips slowly and looked up at Harry again, before it dawned on him that Harry had been just as intent with his own expression. He tilted his head slightly, considering the other man.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly, not really wanting to break the spell that had seemed to fallen around them.

"I'm... not sure?" Harry hedged as he blushed suddenly.

Louis wriggled closer to him, resting a hand on Harry's knee gently.

"You can tell me anything," he assured him. "This is a safe space, or whatever. Anything you say here will stay here, unless you say otherwise."

"This isn't exactly how I thought this evening was going to turn out," Harry admitted. "But talking to you... it's like..." he huffed and rubbed a hand over his face. "It's like I've unlocked something inside me, something I thought I'd shut away for good. Y'know?" Louis nodded encouragingly. "Hearing you talk about your dreams for the future - they were mine too. I thought that was always going to be it for me. I thought I'd leave school, go to college and get my A levels, then go to uni for my degree, and while I was there, I'd meet the love of my life, and we'd graduate together, and we'd live together, and we'd get married, and it would be... y'know, perfect. But it never happened. The guys I saw in uni were just dickheads - most of them were 'experimenting'," he pulled a face as he used exaggerated air quotes. "And none of them really had anything in mind further than the end of that night and getting their dicks wet. Or.. whatever. Most of them had girlfriends, anyway. I even joined the LGBT Soc, and they were great, but it just felt like there were a disproportionate number of lesbians in my uni." Harry rolled his eyes. "That's not even the point. The point is, that I had always expected to get my happily ever after quite early - which is probably stupid, and I get that - but here I am, 25, in a job that I have a love/hate relationship with, in a shitty little flat in a shitty part of London, and I can't even remember the name of the last bloke I slept with. Oh, and my mum had to make me go on holiday with my friends, because I've turned into this pathetic workaholic, who hides himself in work to hide from the failure of the rest of my life." He sighed heavily. "I just feel like my life is a mess at the moment."

"I don't think it is, love," Louis said reassuringly. "I think you're just... at a critical crossroads in your life. Now that you've got some time away from work and from home - you can look at it all from a bit of a distance, and get some perspective on your life. Do you want to continue on down this path, or do you want to change it up? Maybe try and get a different flat, or find a new job, or maybe just a new hobby? Or make the time to enjoy the hobbies you've already got?" Louis blinked slowly. "I sound like a life coach."

"No, you sound like a big brother," Harry chuckled.

"That's even worse," Louis groaned. "I did not bring you back to my home to be a  _ big brother _ to you. That's just... wrong on so many levels."

Harry burst into a fit of giggles, grateful that the tension that had built around them with the serious conversations had broken.

"It's okay," he chuckled, reaching out a reassuring hand. "I think you're far more of a daddy figure," he added with a cheeky wink.

"Don't you dare," Louis pointed at him warningly. "I'm not into that daddy kink shit - as far as I'm concerned, it's disturbing and squicky." He paused for a moment. "But to each their own, and I'm not into kinkshaming either, so if others are into it, that's up to them."

"What if I'm into it?" Harry asked, blinking at him innocently.

"Then I apologise for wasting your time, can I offer you a blanket and pillow to sleep on the sofa?"

Harry let out a loud honk as he laughed again, quickly covering his mouth and nearly falling off the sofa with the force of his amusement, shaking his head rapidly.

"No, no," he gasped. "No daddy kink here, I promise."

"Oh thank fuck," Louis sighed in relief. "I was getting a little concerned, and probably a little frustrated. You're really very pretty, and I would really like to fuck you, if you're up for it."

"Well," Harry cleared his throat as he sat up again, wiping his cheeks. "I think I could be up for it, given the right amount of encouragement and interest."

"And how would that go, exactly?"

"A kiss is a pretty good place to start?"

Louis cocked an eyebrow, but slowly leaned in, brushing his lips lightly over Harry's, allowing him every opportunity to change his mind and pull back. Instead, Harry let out a low hum and pressed closer, sliding a hand onto the side of Louis' neck, holding him in place as he deepened the kiss slowly.

It was a little like in the club, Louis absently thought. The way it physically felt was the same, but at the same time, it was so much more. Harry was a lot more sober now, for one, which made the whole thing more intense and focused. Louis could feel that he had Harry's complete attention, that he was concentrating on making this whole experience one to never be forgotten. Harry carefully ran his hand down over Louis' side, making him shiver and shift towards Harry a little, who guided him closer still, gently tugging Louis over onto his lap. Louis slipped his arms over Harry's shoulders, letting out a low hum as he adjusted his weight to settle more comfortably on Harry's thighs. The hum blended into a low groan when Harry moved his hands down to grip Louis' ass firmly and rocked their hips together carefully.

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Louis murmured, tipping his head back slightly. "You're sober enough for informed consent?"

"Mm, I am, and it's a major turn-on that you're checking," Harry replied, pressing kisses down over Louis' throat.

"Well," Louis continued, a little breathless. "Consent is sexy. I'd rather make sure."

"Definitely sure, definitely gonna fuck you." Harry looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Unless you wanna fuck me? Cos I'm versatile."

"Me too, love," Louis chuckled quietly, resting a hand on Harry's cheek. "How about both?"

"Both sounds amazing." Harry beamed at Louis and swooped back in for another kiss, making them both slightly lightheaded before he pulled back again. "How about we go find your bed first?"

"Always with the excellent suggestions."

Louis carefully got up off of Harry's lap and took his hand, tugging him off of the sofa and leading the way to his bedroom.

"I warn you now, it's a bit of a mess compared to the rest of the flat," Louis admitted. "I'm not the tidiest of people."

"I think I have far more pressing things to concern myself with than your level of housekeeping," Harry murmured, pressing his lips to Louis' shoulder and grinding up against his ass.

"Y-yeah," Louis choked slightly, trying not to get too overwhelmed. "Good point."

He shoved his bedroom door open and turned around quickly, grabbing Harry's hips and rejoining their lips as he kissed him harder, walking backwards to drop onto the bed, pulling Harry up over him. Harry quickly clambered up over him, his knees either side of Louis' hips as he practically bent double to keep his lips firmly against Louis'. A noise of frustration sounded in the room, although neither were particularly sure which of them it had come from, as both realised that they would have to separate at least a little, in order to strip out of their clothes.

"Fuck, why didn't we get naked first?" Louis gasped, letting go of Harry's hips to help him tug his tee off. "Too many clothes. Off, off."

"Okay, okay," Harry muttered, just as desperately. "Fuck sake, my jeans." He grunted as he pushed uselessly at the waistband. "Nope, gonna have to get up." He pulled away and groaned as he caught his foot around Louis' calf, pitching forward and nearly braining himself on the floor, catching himself quickly with one hand. "Holy shit."

"Are you okay there?" Louis let out a low giggle, carefully wriggling out of his tee and jeans and dropping them over the other side of the bed.

"Yep, yes!" Harry exclaimed, popping up to his feet suddenly. "Boots off. That'll help."

He reached down to unzip his battered brown boots, kicking them to one side, before he squirmed his way out of his skin-tight jeans and nudging them with his toes.

"They make your ass and thighs look good, even if they are a pain to get off," Louis offered, already leaning back on the bed and lazily trailing his fingers over his bare chest.

"Well, I'm glad I'm not wearing them for nothing," Harry joked. "All about the aesthetic, isn't it?"

"Damn fucking straight," Louis snickered, reaching out and grabbing Harry's hand. "Now get here already."

Harry snorted and climbed back onto the bed and kissing Louis again, as he pressed his hips down firmly. Within minutes, they'd both removed their boxers, leaving them naked and grinding against each other. Louis reached out to the top drawer of his bedside table, fumbling inside and pulling out a bottle of lube without looking, pressing it into Harry's hand, before going back to grab a condom.

"Mm, consent and protection, I'm so hot right now," Harry murmured.

"So you fucking should be, considering we're both naked and hard," Louis rasped. "Get your fingers in me and open me up, dammit."

"You are so fucking sexy."

Harry flicked open the lid of the lube with one hand, managing to slick his fingers up and reaching down, carefully touching Louis' taint and smirking when he immediately moaned. Slowly, Harry eased a single fingertip in past the tight ring of muscle, kissing Louis harder and swallowing each and every sound he made. Harry took his time, adding another finger and then more lube, before a third finger, stretching Louis open carefully.

Harry gazed down at Louis' face, watching him intently while he moved his fingers slowly, searching for the slightest sign that Louis was in any way uncomfortable, but relaxing slowly as it became evident that Louis was enjoying everything that Harry was doing to him.

"S'enough," Louis eventually slurred, so high on pleasure already he could barely control his speech. "C'mon, Haz. Need you inside me. Please."

"I got you, babe," Harry replied, pressing a soft kiss to his lips as he pulled his fingers out of Louis' ass and wiped them off on the sheets before he grabbed the foil packet. "Gonna make you feel good, I promise." He wrinkled his nose in concentration, before tearing it open and slowly rolling the rubber over his cock, unable to stop the low groan at the sensation. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath, looking quickly at Louis when he felt a hand on his thigh.

"You're gonna be amazing," Louis assured him. "I know it."

"It's been a while," Harry shrugged in embarrassment.

"Take your time," Louis replied, pushing himself up to kiss Harry softly. "I'm a sure thing, I promise."

"Mm, s'good to hear. Now lie back."

Louis grinned and did as he was told, while Harry tipped out some more lube onto his fingers, slicking up his cock thoroughly and settling properly between Louis' thighs. With another quick glance at Louis for any last minute objections, Harry carefully pressed the tip of his cock against Louis' slick hole. At the sound of the encouraging moan, and the way Louis rocked his hips up slightly, Harry found the confidence to push forward slowly, letting out a small whimper as he felt the pressure and heat surrounding his cock as he slid inside. As much as his instincts screamed at him to just plough into Louis' ass and plunder it thoroughly, Harry held himself back, his control teetering on a knife's edge. He slowly leaned down, his muscles straining under the careful movement, and pressed a tender kiss to Louis' welcoming lips. Louis sighed in contentment, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck and his legs around Harry's waist, as he returned the kiss enthusiastically.

"C'mon, baby," he whispered. "I'm not made of glass."

"Don't wanna hurt you," Harry murmured, nudging at Louis' cheek with his nose.

"You're not gonna, you prepped me so well," Louis reassured him. "I promise."

Harry nodded once and gripped one of Louis' hips in his hand, holding him steady as he pulled back slightly before pushing further forward. A few more to and fros, and he settled fully into Louis, pressing kisses over every patch of skin he could reach.

"Fucking hell, Styles," Louis arched his back slightly at the feeling. "You're ridiculously big, you know that?" He shivered hard, digging his nails into Harry's back gently. "You gonna move any time this year?"

"Mm, I dunno," Harry nuzzled. "Feels pretty good just like this, to be honest."

"You're such a joker," Louis sighed, shifting carefully. "C'mon, love. Fuck me like you mean it."

After another quick kiss to Louis' lips, Harry pushed himself up onto his knees, sliding his hands down Louis' torso to grip his hips properly, positioning him where he wanted him before he started to move slowly, pulling back and pressing forward. Louis immediately began to moan and respond, grinding and writhing up against Harry, a soft mantra of 'yes' and 'fuck' and 'please' escaping his lips with every firm thrust. Harry shifted his weight slightly and adjusted his grip on Louis' body, before he rocked back into him again, unable to stop the smug smirk that fell across his face as that particular movement elicited a high keening sound from the man beneath him. Every thrust after that was aimed at the same spot, keeping that particular noise falling repeatedly from Louis' mouth as he grabbed desperately at Harry, at the pillow, at the sheets beneath him, trying desperately to find something to ground himself while Harry kept up the assault on his prostate.

"M'gonna, gonna, shit fuck, Harry," Louis babbled. "I'm fucking close. I'm gonna --"

He gave into the urge to grasp his hard neglected cock, fisting it hurriedly and whining when Harry brushed his hand to one side.

"Let me," Harry rasped, his voice lower and huskier than normal, which in itself caused another round of trembles and shivers to rattle through Louis' body.

Before Louis could say anything in protest, Harry's larger hand encompassed Louis' stiff and leaking cock, stroking it firmly in time with the rocking of his hips, causing Louis to let out a low moan of satisfaction. Only a few more thrusts before Louis let out a wordless yell and climaxed hard with a full body shudder as he shot thick reams of come up over his stomach and chest, and then collapsed back onto the bed, panting desperately for air.

Harry had paused in his moves to watch the other man fall apart beneath him, but as soon as Louis dropped down on the sheets, he was spurred back into action, letting go of Louis' cock and grasping his hips again, starting to fuck into him harder and faster as he chased his own orgasm.

"Fuck, you're so hot," he muttered, feeling hot beads of sweat rolling down his back and temples. "Shit, Lou. Yes."

"C'mon, love," Louis encouraged softly, running his hands weakly over Harry's skin. "That's it, c'mon. I'm right here. You're so amazing."

Harry suddenly pressed even deeper and let out a loud and low moan as he came, while Louis hummed in contentment, still stroking wherever he could reach, and letting out a soft chuckle and a grunt as Harry dropped down bonelessly on top of him.

"Fuck," Harry managed to rasp.

"Hi there," Louis murmured quietly, running his fingers through Harry's hair. "You still alive in there?"

"It's debatable," Harry huffed, hiding his face in Louis' shoulder.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, until Louis shoved gently at Harry, causing him to groan in protest, but carefully pull out, removing the condom and tying it off before he reached out and dropped it on the floor.

"Oi," Louis protested.

"I'll pick it up later," Harry mumbled. "M'tired now."

"Oh, so you're staying, are you?"

"Uh huh," Harry snuggled closer. "I'll make you breakfast in the morning. Just let me sleep for at least three hours."

Louis opened his mouth to protest again, not for any particular reason, just to be a shit, but then Harry's words registered and he shut it again slowly.

"If you put an offer like that on the table, how can I possibly refuse?" he said softly instead.

"Uh huh," Harry grunted. "Now shut up and sleep. You can fuck me tomorrow."

"Jesus fuck, Harry," Louis exclaimed quietly. "You can't just say shit like that!"

"Like you aren’t thinking the exact same thing."

"Oh hush up."

 

**Author's Note:**

> [Rebloggable tumblr post to be added after the reveal]


End file.
